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CPAC’s big gay headache

In a phone interview with TheDC, Cardenas said banning GOProud from co-sponsorship for behavioral issues was his personal motivation, but that other members of ACU’s board had different reasons — including opposition to homosexuality — when the board voted to expel the group.

“To be candid with you, our board vote is comprised of … basically three groups,” Cardenas said: “strong social conservatives” who are opposed on social issues grounds, libertarians who support GOProud’s inclusion, and traditional marriage advocates who welcome GOProud’s presence.

Those social conservatives who oppose the group think “they should not be invited, period,” Cardenas explained.

That group has been led by board members Cleta Mitchell and Morton Blackwell, according to a GOProud-supportive source with knowledge of the ACU board.

Mitchell declined to comment for this report, but in a 2012 interview with the blog ChicagoNow, she clearly stated her opposition to GOProud.

“Well they aren’t committed to the fundamental principles of the movement,” Mitchell reportedly said. “It would be like ‘Conservatives for Gun Control’ — it’s an oxymoron.”

Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist ranks among the libertarians, Cardenas told TheDC, pointing out that he’s a board member of both GOProud and the ACU.

“We’ve got a group of libertarians on the board who believe that GOProud definitely should be invited, regardless of the civility issue,” Cardenas offered.

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The establishment really can’t handle the exclusion of GOProud or Christie. After building up CPAC’s reputation year-after-year as the great conservative gathering, now they’re determined to tear it down and destroy it for its heresy.

I was surprised and honored that Jihad Watch was among the nominees for the People’s Choice Blog Award, sponsored by Right Wing News and TheTeaParty.net, to be awarded at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2013.

As you can see from the vote above, Jihad Watch won decisively, getting over 50% of the vote in a field of fifteen…

..(T)here was a slight problem: the… group, which co-sponsored this People’s Choice Blog Award, didn’t want to allow me to receive it at CPAC next week unless I promised not to criticize Grover Norquist and Suhail Khan as I accepted the award.

I told the organizer that I couldn’t agree to that. He asked me if I had planned to talk about Grover and Suhail. I said no, I hadn’t, but I had to now…

Well, most everything that I hear about GOProud is about “gay rights.” If they were out there fighting for conservative causes, not just gay causes, it’d be one thing. But they really do seem to care only about the gay issues. So, I really don’t see why they should be included.

Pretty sure GOProud is a front group for lefties. Didn’t its founder support a libertarian candidate for President (which is pretty hard to square if you are supposedly a “Republican” organization), and didn’t Andrew Breitbart resign from their board after they “outed” a senior staffer for a conservative Republican group? None of that conduct should be acceptable for a Republican group.

I always had the gut feeling that just enough of CPAC’s biggest wallets beeotched about GOProud…off the record of course…while some others were publically calling to boycott CPAC if GOProud were invited again. This had nothing to do with Barron’s one statement, which he apologized for.

I only wish more conservatives would have stood up for the organization. You have to understand…it’s really hard enough to be gay and conservative/Republican. You’re hated and labelled a traitor by the gay Left, and hated and misunderstood by the Christian Right. There are allies in both camps…even those you have disagreements with. But we all know it’s your attackers who make the headlines.

CPAC’s exclusion of GOProud is very unfortunate. HotAir even felt the “wrath” of the extremists…see HERE for a refresher. Ed took some crud.

Didn’t its founder support a libertarian candidate for President (which is pretty hard to square if you are supposedly a “Republican” organization), and didn’t Andrew Breitbart resign from their board after they “outed” a senior staffer for a conservative Republican group? None of that conduct should be acceptable for a Republican group.

Outlander on March 6, 2013 at 7:59 PM

You know I thought the same thing. I had tarred the group with the same feeling as the log cabin Republicans. A new commenter is on the board and I started a discussion. I am not so sure they are that leftist. It might be beholden to become allies with them to fight the leftist. dpduq views on gay rights were interesting. He wasn’t really sold on marriage, and he also understood and agreed with the fact that the best possible household for children was a mom and a dad. This was board member of GOProud. Maybe we have more in common with some of these guys than we don’t.

Thanks for engaging me on the topic. I can’t speak for Log Cabin Republicans — frankly, I’ve always seen them as pretty liberal… ultra RINO, if you will.

Chris Barron, co-founder of GOProud recently released a statement on “marriage” through a press release. Ironically, marriage isn’t even a core issue for GOProud, but as a gay conservative organization, it is constantly peppered with questions about the topic, and usually done so under the meme that all conservatives hate gay people, treat us as second class-citizens, etc… “How can you be gay and conservative?” “How can you support the Republican ticket when they are explicitly for traditional marriage?” So rather than say nothing, we felt it was appropriate for Chris to release his statement on behalf of the organization to shut some people up.

The GOProud statement essentially says that we support stable, committed relationships; support traditional marriage and family; and also – while supporting legal affirmation of committed gay relationships in the aggregate (some may call that “marriage,” some might call it a version of “civil union”) – the organization (through Chris) stated that decisions to legalize gay unions should be left up to local state voters and/or legislators as civil law is generally the course of state government.

Additionally – and even more importantly, in my opinion – the statement concluded by stating unequivocally that GOProud understands that there are strong beliefs on both sides of the issue; and that it does not, and will not, support the notion that anyone who does not support gay marriage is ostensibly a bigot. That’s one thing I personally loved about the statement. We understand that very good and decent people have differing opinions on this issue.

I had the opportunity to do an interview with an Italian Public Television network just prior to the election and was asked repeatedly by the nice woman interviewing me about how I could support Romney and Ryan given that they “don’t like gay people.” After I swatted that one out of the park, I went on to tell her that our country faces tremendous challenges – financially, legally, socially, etc. Furthermore I told her I thought it as incredibly stupid of anyone – gay or straight – promoting gay marriage or anything “gay” to expect that everyone would automatically accept it. I told her that I “get” that there are people who are repulsed by the mere concept of homosexuality, let alone marriage, and that those feelings could be steeped in a belief system borne of faith, upbringing, etc. — and that I understand that. For me or anyone else to think that a well-adjusted heterosexual is immune to thinking that homosexuality is wrong, unnatural, gross, or whatever, is very naive. I concluded by telling her that gay people won’t win friends through force fitting an agenda into the mainstream, and crying “hater” every time someone disagrees with them. I can’t stand the gay people who do that — or anyone on the left who does that, for that matter.

I became involved in GOProud in 2010, having attended an event in NYC, and I’ve been quite satisfied since then with the mindset of the group. I was flattered when they asked me to join their board last year, and was really impressed when I met most of my fellow board members in Washington DC at the beginning of the year… talk about some hardcore conservative homos!! (and straight board members, too) WOW…

Happy to answer any questions you have at any time. And please know that I’m not here solely to shill for GOProud or blather on (like THIS long post) about gay stuff… I’m in this fight to win back America for ALL of us.

It’s their party but I trust that CPAC is aware this will keep coming up year after year and the discomfort with their decision will only grow. Personally I don’t have much use for GOProud other than to blunt some of the nonsense I see from more liberal gay rights groups.